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Arsonist guilty of murdering pensioner trapped in burning Willenhall flats

A jilted ex-boyfriend who started a fire at a block of flats which killed an innocent pensioner was today facing life in jail after being found guilty of murder.

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Aiden Elmore and the damage done by his arson spree

Aiden Elmore started the blaze which killed Victor Moore, 68, who had stepped out of his flat into the heart of the fire.

He collapsed and died in the ground-floor corridor of the maisonettes, in Short Heath, Willenhall, after Elmore set fire to a wheelie bin barricade at the rear exit.

Elmore, who had been drinking heavily after splitting up with Lauren Wellings, then set garden fires in Crab Lane en route to the Wychbold Way home of her mother where he torched wheelie bins placed next to patio windows.

  • Jilted Willenhall arsonist wanted revenge on ex but we may never know why pensioner was killed

Passing police officers spotted flames up to 8ft high lapping against the door and managed to tackle the blaze with a fire extinguisher they had in their patrol car before it could spread inside the flat.

Officers flooded the area on the lookout for the arsonist and at 4.10am a 'shaking and nervous' Elmore was arrested wandering along a nearby street. The court heard how residents jumped from windows in Mr Moore's Southey Close/Tennyson Road block of flats to escape but the pensioner had no chance of getting out.

Yesterday a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court found Elmore guilty of murder. He was also found guilty of two counts of arson with intent to endanger life, relating to the Southey Close block, and a fire at his ex-girlfriend's home in Wychbold Way.

Elmore gave no reaction as the verdicts were read out. The self-employed roofer, of no fixed address and formerly of Essington Road, New Invention, Willenhall, will be sentenced on Tuesday.

The scene of the arson attack in Southey Close

At the peak of the fire temperatures would have reached up to 1,000 degrees centigrade, and the heat welded doors shut as they melted.

Mr Moore, who had health problems and could not walk very quickly, suffered 95 per cent burns in the tragedy.

Tennyson Road resident Peter Burton broke down in tears as he recounted how he and another man tried in vain to smash open the door after hearing sounds of moaning coming from inside.

After starting that fire Elmore left the scene and set two more small garden fires in nearby Crab Lane, in New Invention, before continuing on to the home of Miss Wellings, in Wychbold Way, New Invention, to light another.

It was here that police officers, by now hunting for the firestarter, spotted Elmore carrying a burning yellow jacket, given to him by Miss Wellings as a Father's Day gift.

He was captured on security cameras arriving, then minutes later leaving the garden of Miss Wellings' home carrying the coat.

It was officers who put out the bin blaze in the rear garden of the property.

Elmore and Miss Wellings, aged 17, have a son together but had been spending time apart when she texted him to call off their relationship. He told the jury at his trial he set fire to the jacket to hurt her.

Neighbours today paid tribute to Mr Moore and said who did nobody any harm and 'didn't stand a chance' in the blaze.

A resident, who did not want to be named, today spoke of how the pensioner used to play dominoes at the nearby Poets Corner public house.

"I knew Vic over the years. We used to say 'hello' in the street. He used to share the flat with his dad who died many years ago. He was the kind of chap who never did any harm to anybody.

"His sister used to come in her car to visit him every day.

"We were all very shocked and upset when we heard what happened to him. He didn't deserve it. The poor man didn't stand a chance the way the block was burning. The flames and smoke were still spewing out several hours after the fire engines first came.

"Vic used to come to the Poets' and play crib and dominoes.

"But he kept himself to himself. He used to go up the shop, return to his flat and that was it.

"I found out that something was wrong when my next door neighbour phoned me as it was early hours of the morning I at first thought one of my children had an emergency."

During the trial, Elmore told the jury it was 'sad' to hear how Mr Moore had died but repeatedly denied starting the blaze.

Elmore had been drinking all night at the Poets Corner pub on the evening of October 7, with the fires set from around 2am the next morning. He had been the last to leave the pub and was seen wearing the yellow Adidas jacket.

Elmore was a former pupil of the New Leaf Centre in Walsall - a short stay school for secondary age pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.

He completed a qualification with West Midlands Fire Service as part of a 30-hour rehabilitation programme after being referred for being excluded from school.

The course was aimed to make youths aware of the 'risk' and 'consequences' of starting a fire and also addressed anti-social behaviour.

Speaking after the case, Det Sgt Mick Ross said: "Elmore had been drinking, taking drugs and was emotional after separating from his partner.

"His actions were a clear attempt to cause people serious harm: he positioned bins against doors, barring residents' likely exit route and forcing people to jump for their lives from windows. He did the same again in Wychbold Way where only the brave actions of police officers stopped the blaze spreading into the property; there were young children at the address and the officers' actions may well have saved more lives.

"Elmore made a determined effort to light the bins– CCTV showed him trying to light the rubbish for around 20 minutes.

"Elmore had been drinking heavily since he split with his partner nine hours before the fatal fire. It's understood vengeance over the split led him to target the home in Wychbold Way, but it's still unclear why he sparked the fire that cost Mr Moore his life."

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